TED Tuesday: Mandy Len Catron— Falling in love is the easy part

"I want the happy ending implied by the title to my article, which is, incidentally, the only part of the article that I didn't actually write."

Good Morning Folks,

Did you know you can fall in love with anyone just by asking them 36 questions? Mandy Len Catron tried this experiment, it worked, and she wrote a viral article about it (that your mom probably sent you). But … is that real love? Did it last? And what’s the difference between falling in love and staying in love?

Talking about reception to her article, she talks about how feedback was largely centred around whether or not she had remained with her partner since penning the post.

“People didn't just want to know if the study worked, they wanted to know if it really worked: that is, if it was capable of producing love that would last,” she says in the video.

“Not just a fling, but real love, sustainable love."

But building real sustainable love is something Catron believes couldn’t be found by simply asking 36 questions.

Instead, her talk asks the audience to consider deeper long term questions to ask oneself when the honeymoon phase has ended.

“I would propose we ask some more difficult questions, questions like: How do you decide who deserves your love and who does not? How do you stay in love when things get difficult," she says.

She concludes: "Falling in love is not the same thing as staying in love. Falling in love is the easy part. So at the end of my article, I wrote, 'Love didn't happen to us. We're in love because we each made the choice to be'."

You can watch Mandy’s full TED talk video below in full.  

We strive to have the most inspired, motivated, and best trained employees in the industry! I hope these TED Tuesday presentations keep you well informed and enrich your life both personally and professionally.

Have a GREAT Day!

Mitch

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"It's not what you've got. It's what you use that makes a difference."
~~ Zig Ziglar

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Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  

TED Tuesday: Remembering Scott Dinsmore— How to find and do work you love | TEDxGoldenGatePark (2D)

"But doing the impossible and pushing our limits, because there are 2 reasons why people don’t do things: one is because they tell themselves they can’t do them and the other is people around them tell them, they can’t do. Either way we start to believe it. Either we give up or we never start in the first place."

Good Morning Folks,

Today's speaker, Scott Dinsmore, an Alamo, California native, entrepreneur and adventurer, was killed last year while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, a feat his family says was to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Dinsmore, who was hiking with his wife, died doing what he loved, something he preached through his work, on a blog on his website and in the widely viewed (3+MN) Ted Talk that follows, recorded in 2012.

Before he reached the summit, a cascade of boulders rolled down the mountain and one of them hit and killed the 33-year-old.

In his blog post Scott Dinsmore said he almost decided against booking the Tanzania trip because he didn't think he could go on a digital break.

"How ridiculous is that? To pass up an adventure I've talked about for years -- because I'd convinced myself I couldn't disconnect. Or more truthfully, because I couldn't find the courage to do it. That would have been a tragedy."

Scott Dinsmore quit a job that made him miserable, and spent the next four years wondering how to find work that was joyful and meaningful. He shares what he learned in this deceptively simple talk about finding out what matters to you — and then getting started doing it.

Then Scott made it his mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing. He is a career change strategist whose demoralizing experience at a Fortune 500 job launched his quest to understand why 80% of adults hate the work they do, and more importantly, to identify what the other 20% were doing differently. His research led to experiences with thousands of employees and entrepreneurs from 158 countries. Scott distilled the results down to his Passionate Work Framework - three surprisingly simple practices for finding and doing work you love, that all happen to be completely within our control. He makes his career tools available free to the public through his community at http://LiveYourLegend.net

What Scott has created at Live Your Legend is mind-boggling. He creates inspiration, the challenge to dream big and bold, and the tools to make all that a reality. But most unbelievable is the community he's developed of people who are passionate about doing something great, and helping each other achieve that. Have a look:




Let me close as Scott did. "And as we finish up, I have just one question to ask you guys, and I think it's the only question that matters. And it's what is the work you can't not do? Discover that, live it, not just for you, but for everybody around you, because that is what starts to change the world. What is the work you can't not."

Have a GREAT Day and Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Putting Fun Into Work— All For A Great Cause

FSO employees come together to celebrate National Cheese Day!

Good Morning Folks,

It is said, "The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don't feel valued, neither will your customers." At FSO, we are providing great new programs and initiatives for YOU, our employees.

We had a great time celebrating National Pizza Day at HQ last week! In April we celebrated both National Beer Day and National Grilled Cheese Day! As you can see, we had quite the celebration here at FSG HQ. The café was set up with Grilled Cheese toasters and assorted CHEESE!!! We had an amazing turn out packed with directors, managers, and employees from the field. It was a blast, everyone loved it.

FSO employees "loafing" around in four easy steps: 

1) Choose slices from the Rye, Wheat or White loaves, 2) Choose a cheese 

3) Melt in the sandwich press 4) Repeat for someone less fortunate

.

Best of all, we turned this national celebration into an act of philanthropy! We packed a take-out bag and took to the street to give the leftover grilled cheese to the homeless of NYC.

I really enjoy these events where we can bring our staff together, it’s always a great time. Thank you Chelsea and People Solutions for your support in making FSG a great company. I personally enjoyed being in the café connecting with everyone. 

We invite the local field staff to come join us for these events any time. Be sure to check our Employee Relations Calendar for more of our upcoming events!

On behalf of the leadership team, to all of our employees reading this right now, I’d like to THANK YOU for what YOU do every day and the contribution YOU are making in helping FSO deliver to our promise, grow and be the Best Place to Work.

I look forward to seeing all of you soon in my travels.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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“Don't ever give up. Don't ever give in. Don't ever stop trying. 

Don't ever sell out. And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off. But never, ever, ever give up.”  

~~ Richelle E. Goodrich  Author

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TED Tuesday- Mandy Len Catron: Falling In Love Is The Easy Part

“But what I have instead is the chance to make the choice to love someone, and the hope that he will choose to love me back, and it is terrifying, but that's the deal with love.”

Good Morning Folks.

Two million people have watched Mandy's inspirational TED Talk filmed last summer at TEDxChapmanU. Today you can be two million and one.

Did you know you can fall in love with anyone just by asking them 36 questions? Mandy Len Catron tried this experiment, it worked, and she wrote a viral article about it (that your mom probably sent you). But … is that real love? Did it last? And what’s the difference between falling in love and staying in love? Have a look/see:




About Mandy: Mandy Len Catron is a writer living and working in Vancouver, BC. She blogs at The Love Story Project, a collage of research, memoir and family mythology. As she says: "I’ve been writing a book about love stories for the past five years and, miraculously, I still haven’t tired of talking about it. If you’d like to share your own story or theory or rant, get in touch at @LenMandy."

Have a GREAT DAY!

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Inspire ME Friday: Happy Valentines Day

Good Morning Folks,

Love is so simple and people makes it so complicated. 

Love is everywhere but people doesn't see it. 

There are so many levels of love and so many ways to love and afterall we just have to love.


We LOVE our clients and we LOVE our people.

So, simple, right? 









HOPE YOU ARE FEELING THE FSO LOVE TODAY!!

HAPPY VALENTINES♡♥♡♥

From our wonderful FSO Family have a GREAT weekend, be happy and… Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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“Do all things with love" ~~Og Mandino
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Texting Ourselves Out of Existence

Photo: New York Times

"I’ve learned that the little devices most of us carry around are so powerful that they change not only what we do, but also who we are."

Good Morning Folks,

Over the past 15 years, I’ve studied technologies of mobile connection and talked to hundreds of people of all ages and circumstances about their plugged-in lives. I’ve learned that the little devices most of us carry around are so powerful that they change not only what we do, but also who we are.

This led me to an email I got on New Year's day from a San Francisco-based ops executive I know. She is 35 and single and wondering why she never meets the right man until she asked, "maybe he can't see me behind the phone always in front of my face."

This morning I thought I'd share Michelle's story because it is so emotional, poignant, and beautifully written. It is a cry for help, not just for Michelle. But for everyone reading this. How do we want to improve our lives and get the very best out of relationships.

Steve Jobs in an interview said there is a 50/50 chance life is like an on/off switch. There maybe life after dead, a God, and meanings beyond this life. But for us, the alive who are left behind by the dead – it is definitely an off switch. Life can turn on/off in an instant, so do we want to die with the phone clutched at breasts?"

Because no amount of spirituality, ritual, technology or ceremony will bring those we loss back in our lifetime and that is how it ought to be.

So what kind of life do we want to live and teach our children to be living?

Over to you, Michelle:

"I'm 35 and single and I'm at that age where clearly something must be wrong with me!  

When I think about New Years and resolutions, I could easily say to "find a great guy", but I don't think that's gonna cut it.  So, I'm taking a different approach in 2014. 

Just over a year ago a stranger stopped me and mentioned that he knew my morning coffee routine. My first thought was "stalker"! Then I hesitated and wondered how was it that I did not recognize him? Despite being very memorable I had no clue he existed let alone he had nearly the same routine and lived just 2 blocks from me. 

My morning routine consisted of multi-tasking on calls, checking emails, texts, and reading google news and anything else I could from my iPhone, all the while getting a morning walk and coffee in. 

Since meeting my estranged neighbor and realizing how completely unapproachable I appeared in my own hood, I decided to simply leave my iPhone behind. As the year progressed, it became a sort of accidental resolution and I decided to take it to the "extreme".  I stopped using earbuds altogether and I would often leave my phone in my bag ignoring calls, texts, and emails while I was out and about. 

This was going to be "amazing" I remember thinking.  And “how scary!" - To leave my iPhone behind while I get coffee, go shopping, or even workout - crazy. I actually recall worrying the first time I went to run “all the way” down to the Ferry Building without my iPhone because omg "how will I know what time it is!?

Never mind the fact that I was running to where the city’s largest clock stands!

I started this so curious about what would come. I had built this new found excitement to connect with total strangers the "good old fashioned" way.  Who would I meet?  What would I discover?  What was I missing out on?!?  So much to unfold.

So here I am, a year later and what happened?  Well, nothing like I imagined.  I did meet a handful of people. With the exception of one 27 yr old, the average age was a solid 60 - In a city full of 30-40 yr olds - not one person my age.

What I realized was that I was often alone with my no-phone self.  I found myself surrounded by phone-addicted drones who didn't even look up, let alone start a conversation.  There were several occasions where literally everyone in the room would be laser-focused on their laptops or smart phones, rarely if ever, looking up and with their ears plugged, certainly not even remotely approachable.  And then it dawned on me, is this why so many of us are still single? 

I know many single people who are struggling to connect with other like-minded people. 10 years ago when I think about how often and which places I would randomly meet new people, engage with and have meaningful conversations that would then lead to new opportunities, experiences, and relationships...those same old places are still there, but the opportunities to connect seem to no longer exist.

Just this morning while in line for coffee, a guy literally walked straight into me. I saw him coming and normally I would proactively dodge the drone phone user, but I decided to see what would happen. He literally walked straight into me while I was standing still in line. 

He was completely oblivious that I even existed or that there was even a line of people beside him for that matter! He managed to peel his eyes away from his phone for a split second, only to glance towards the door, as he kept walking out of the café. He didn’t even acknowledge the hit and run! 

Since I’ve left my iPhone behind, I now can't help but notice how unbelievably disconnected people are with their physical surroundings and how they lack the awareness of the presence of the people right beside them.  

So my suggestion (request really more than anything) if you're looking for your own New Years resolution for 2014 it's to simply leave your phone behind. 

There are some pretty awesome people right in front of you.  All the stuff on your smart phone will still be there.  If you run out the door without it, after your mini panic attack, nothing bad will happen.  Who knows, when you actually look up, maybe something amazing will!" 

Happy New Year.
MM

These days it’s hard to allocate the term “friend” to people that we only interact with online.

When I was growing up, friends were the kids that we shared games of soccer, hide and seek, or board games with. They were those that we shared a common school, were punished together for making fun of the teacher, or bled our knees from climbing the rocks behind the school building on an autumn afternoon.

Growing up, one made friends through other friends, at parties, at gatherings in smoky cafes, or in college. Some friendships would break and some would remain intact for years to come. Friendships were made in the army, while wishing that boot camp training was over, while guarding remote posts – missing loved ones a thousand miles away.

Eventually, as adults, we forged friendships with co-workers and with them we fought asshole bosses, shared lunch breaks and talked about sports and our personal relationships. We had BBQ’s and summer vacations together, taking silly or embarrassing pictures.

Somehow, some friendships evolved into long distance observations through Facebook, Twitter or via emails. We considered friends to “always be there” and to never ever grow older, or sicker.

We believed friends never die.

Finding out that a good friend, Adam H., passed away eight months ago in a motorcycle accident was a big shock for me and an even bigger awakening. Everyone involved seemingly assumed that everyone else knew about it; yet, no-one told several people about this extremely unfair human loss.

Being left with nothing but designs of websites and other digital traces of what used to be a lively man, reminded me how short and fleeting life is. Our footprints in the sand, our effect on others, our human legacy – they all depend on who we really are on the “inside”. There is no way to etch one’s soul onto silicon, no method to recreate life. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

According to the New York Times, "FACE-TO-FACE conversation unfolds slowly. It teaches patience. When we communicate on our digital devices, we learn different habits. As we ramp up the volume and velocity of online connections, we start to expect faster answers. To get these, we ask one another simpler questions; we dumb down our communications, even on the most important matters. It is as though we have all put ourselves on cable news. Shakespeare might have said, “We are consum’d with that which we were nourish’d by.”

So get off your phones, if only to let more folks in.

With our texting addictions, are we redefining the perception of life for better or worse. As soldiers of the FSO mission, in doing so we all must make changes to protect the "Mitch Brand" and "Mitch Legacy" for externity.

Curious to know what you think.

Have a GREAT Day. Love Life.

I'll be a seeing you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

. . . . . ..  . . . . . . . . . . ..  . . . . . . . . . .  . . .  "If you want to change who you are, change what you do."  . . . . . . . . ..  . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . .

LinkUP Thursday: Love. Life. Happiness.

Good Morning Folks,

This week I've found some great articles to share about spirit, passion, attitude, 'pep in the step'; as you know, all my favorite topics.

We start with a video by the Chief of all Chief Happiness Officers, Sir Richard Branson on how he picks people for his team and what you should do to find the right people for yours. It's very much like our process at FSO. Below Richard's brief video, are links to this week's articles.

I hope you get as much from them as I did.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"There are only two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. 
The other is as though everything is." ~~Albert Einstein

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